The Labour party of Keir Starmer, the new U.K. prime
minister, is looking to potentially revise and strengthen the region’s Online Safety Act in response to incendiary comments that X owner Elon Musk posted to his social-media platform in the
midst of nationwide anti-immigration protests.
According to CNBC, which
spoke with two unnamed industry sources, the Labour government is considering altering the Online Safety Act, which currently requires major technology companies to prevent the spread of illegal and
harmful content on their platforms.
While these sources were unable to offer any specific details about potential legislation changes, it has become clear that the desire to strengthen and/or
revise the Online Safety Act after Musk's comments is held by many leading political figures.
advertisement
advertisement
Last week, for example, London mayor Sadiq Khan told The Guardian he thinks “the
government has realized there needs to be amendments to the Online Safety Act,” and is "advising the government to do so “very quickly.”
The Online Safety
Act is not expected to take effect until spring.
“Once fully implemented, the Online Safety Act will require platforms to take action to address illegal content,” a spokesperson
for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told CNBC. “The Act will also require the biggest platforms to enforce their own terms of service, including where these prohibit the
spreading of misinformation.”
“The internet cannot be a haven for those seeking to sow division in our communities,” the spokesperson added, likely referencing Musk's X posts
from last week, one of which read “civil war is inevitable” and was viewed millions of times.
Joe Ondrak, a research and tech lead at U.K. tech company Logically, told CNBC that
while the Online Safety Act protects against some specific types of disinformation, its current state fails to tackle “comprehensively domestic disinformation.”
Until the
legislation in question is in full effect, however, it may be difficult to judge its effectiveness.
Media and telecommunications regulator Ofcom is not yet able to take action against
social-media platforms for allowing hate speech and other illegal content. Once the legislation is live, Ofcom has the power to impose fines on technology companies of as much as 10% of their global
annual revenues and even charge senior managers with jail time if repeat breaches occur.
For reference, 10% of X's 2023 annual revenue amounts to 480 million dollars.